1889 Grade School Graduates (8th Grade), DC Public Schools

Transcriber’s Notes:

This is a list of the eighth grade school children who successfully completed the requirements to enter high school. Street addresses were taken from the 1889 DC Directory. In early years, the schools were organized into numbered divisions and within each division, numbered schools. The schools were typically referred to by their division and school numbers. However, they were sometimes referred to by the building where they were located. Thus, the Division 1 schools numbering 1 through 3 were sometimes referred to as the “Franklin School” because they occupied the “Franklin Building.” However, the reader should keep in mind that over time, the division lines were redrawn and the schools within a division might be renumbered as populations shifted. I have eliminated school numbers from this transcription since the school name is a more recognizable identifier. I have included the division number only for historical reference. This transcription reflects the division lines as of June 1889.

The list of graduates was taken from the June 19 and June 20, 1889, editions of the Washington Post (Washington, DC) at Pages 5 and 7, respectively.

Hillsdale Colored School, 6th Division

(F. J. Smith, Teacher): Note – This school was renamed the Birney School on December 6, 1889, to honor of James G. Birney. [Source: Washington Post, Wash, DC, December 7, 1889, p. 4, New School Buildings Named.]

Morse School, 2nd Division, School No. 7

(5th & R, NW) (Miss King, Teacher): Note – Only the division number and the school number were listed for this school. I believe it was the Morse School since Morse was in the 2nd Division and Miteila/Metella King taught 8th grade there. [Source: Washington Post, Wash, DC, July 30, 1889, p. 2, A List of Teachers: How They Have Been Classified for Next Year.]